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Environmental Law
1. What is it? Environmental crime is a serious and growing international problem, and one which takes many different forms. Broadly speaking, wildlife crime is the illegal exploitation of the world’s wild flora and fauna, while pollution crime is the trade and disposal of waste and hazardous substances in contravention of national and international laws. In addition to these clear and present crimes, new types of environmental crime are emerging, such as carbon trade and water management crime. INTERPOL. (2017). ''Environmental Crime''. Obtenido de https://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Environmental-crime/Environmental-crime 2. Organized Criminal Networks Environmental crime is not restricted by borders, and can affect a nation’s economy, security and even its existence. A significant proportion of both wildlife and pollution crime is carried out by organized criminal networks, drawn by the low risk and high profit nature of these types of crime. The same routes used to smuggle wildlife across countries and continents are often used to smuggle weapons, drugs and people. Indeed, environmental crime often occurs hand in hand with other offences such as passport fraud, corruption, money laundering and murder. INTERPOL. (2017). ''Environmental Crime''. Obtenido de https://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Environmental-crime/Environmental-crime 3. Most common agreements This list highlights some of the most frequently cited multilateral agreements related to the environment as there are many, many environmental treatiesGeorgeTown Law. (2017). ''International Environmental Law Research Guide''. Obtenido de http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/c.php?g=273374&p=1824812: * Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal * Convention of Biological Diversity * Biosafety Protocol (Cartagena Protocol) * Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) * Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses * Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol * International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution rom Ships (MARPOL 73/78) * International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling * Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change * Law of the Sea (LOS) * Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution * North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAFTA side agreement) * Ozone Treaties * Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) 4.Does treaties work? Treaties and agreements doesn’t always work and here are some of the main reason why this happensVidal, J. (6 de June de 2016). ''The guardian''. Obtenido de https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2012/jun/07/earth-treaties-environmental-agreements: * Many agreements on the environment fail to work because governments are also signing up to others on trade or the economy that consistently destroys the environment. * Rich countries have consistently promoted a global economic agenda which deliberately opens up poor countries to very powerful corporations who are able to lobby, bully, cajole, or just ignore national and international environmental laws and agreements. * Many countries sign agreements at international conferences like Rio with a great fanfare, but then quietly fail to ratify them or pass them into domestic law. * Some countries act with impunity. In the case of climate change, Canada ratified Kyoto but then ditched all promises to reduce emissions "in the national interest". The failure of developed countries to join treaties or to ignore them massively undermines global environmental protection. * Some analysts argue there are simply too many bodies now making too many agreements, and reform of the UN system is urgently needed. Bibliography